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The Twenty-third Utterance

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The Twenty-third Utterance

As My voice sounds out, as My eyes shoot forth fire, I am watching over the whole earth, I am observing the entire universe. All humanity are praying to Me, turning their gaze up to Me, beseeching Me to cease My anger, and swearing to rebel against Me no more. But this is no longer the past; it is now. Who can turn back My will? Surely not the invocation within men’s hearts, nor the words in their mouths? Who has been able to survive until the present, if not because of Me? Who survives except by the words in My mouth? Who does not lie under My watchful eye? As I carry out My new work on the whole earth, who has ever been able to escape from it? Could it be that the mountains are able to evade it by means of their height? Could it be that the waters, by their multitudinous vastness, are able to fend it off? In My plan, I have never lightly let any thing go, and so there has never been any person, or any thing, that has eluded the grasp of My hands. Today, My holy name is extolled throughout humanity, and again, words of protest rise up against Me throughout humanity, and legends about My being on earth are rife throughout humanity. I do not tolerate men making their judgments about Me, nor do I tolerate their dividing up My body, still less do I tolerate their vituperations against Me. Because he has never truly known Me, man has always resisted and deceived Me, failing to cherish My Spirit or to treasure My words. For his every deed and action, and for the attitude he bears toward Me, I give man the “reward” that is his due. And so, men all act with an eye to their reward, and not a single one has ever done any work involving self-sacrifice. Human beings are unwilling to render selfless dedication, but rather delight in rewards that can be got for nothing. Though Peter consecrated himself before Me, it was not for the sake of tomorrow’s reward, but for the sake of the knowledge of today. Humanity has never entered into a genuine connection with Me, but time and time again has dealt with Me in a superficial manner, thinking thereby effortlessly to win My approval. I have looked deep into man’s heart, so I have unearthed in its innermost recesses “a mine of many riches,” something of which even man himself is not yet aware but that I have discovered anew. And so, only when they have seen the “material evidence,” only then do human beings cease their sanctimonious self-abasement and, with palms outstretched, admit to their own unclean state. Among men, there is much more that is new and fresh waiting for Me to “extract” for the enjoyment of all humanity. Far from stopping My work on account of man’s incapacitation, I carry on mending and maintaining him in accordance with My original plan. Man is like a fruit tree: Without trimming and pruning, the tree will fail to bear fruit and, in the end, all one sees are withered branches and fallen leaves, with no fruit dropping onto the ground.

As I decorate the “inner chamber” of My kingdom day by day, no one has ever suddenly burst into My “workroom” to disrupt My work. All mankind are doing their utmost to cooperate with Me, fearful of “being dismissed” and “losing their position” and thus reaching a dead end in their lives where they may even fall into the “desert” occupied by Satan. Because of man’s fears, I comfort him every day, move him to love every day and furthermore give him instruction in the midst of his daily life. It is as if human beings are all babies who have just been born; unless supplied with milk, they will soon depart this earth, to be seen no more. In the midst of humanity’s supplications, I come into the world of men and, straight away, humanity lives in a world of light, no longer sealed up inside a “room” from which they cry out their prayers to heaven. As soon as they see Me, men insistently make plaint of the “grievances” stored in their hearts, opening their mouths before Me to beg for food to be dropped into them. But afterward, “their fears allayed and composure restored,” they no longer ask anything of Me, but fall soundly asleep, or else, denying My existence, they go off to mind their own affairs. In mankind’s “abandonment” it is clearly evident how human beings, devoid of “feeling,” carry out their “impartial justice” toward Me. Therefore, seeing man in his unlovely aspect, I depart silently and will no longer readily come down again at his earnest supplication. Unbeknownst to him, man’s troubles grow day by day, and so, in the midst of his toil and moil, when he suddenly discovers My existence, he, refusing to take “no” for answer, grabs hold of Me by the lapels and ushers Me into his house as a guest. But, though he may set forth a sumptuous meal for My enjoyment, he has never once considered Me to be one of his own, instead treating Me as a guest in order to obtain a modicum of help from Me. And so, at this time, man unceremoniously presents his sorry condition before Me, hoping to get My “signature,” and, like one in need of a loan for his business, he tackles Me with all his might. In his every gesture and motion, I catch a fleeting glimpse of man’s intent: It is as though, in his view, I do not know how to read the meaning hidden in a person’s facial expression or tucked away behind his words, or how to look deep into a person’s heart. And so man pours out in confidence to Me every single experience in every single encounter he has ever had, without error or omission, and afterward sets out his demands before Me. I hate and despise man’s every deed and action. Among humanity, there has never been a single one who has done work that I love, as if humanity is intentionally antagonizing Me, and purposefully attracting My wrath: They all parade back and forth in front of Me, indulging their own will before My eyes. There is not a single one among humanity who lives for My sake, and in consequence the existence of the entire human race has neither value nor meaning, so that humanity lives in an empty void. Even so, humanity still refuses to awaken, but continues to rebel against Me, persisting in its vanity.

In all the trials they have passed through, human beings have never once pleased Me. Because of their cruel iniquity, mankind does not aim to bear witness to My name; rather, he “runs the other way” while relying on Me for sustenance. Man’s heart does not wholly turn to Me, and so Satan lays waste to him till he is a mass of wounds, his body covered in filth. But man still does not realize how repulsive is his countenance: All along he has kept worshiping Satan behind My back. For this reason, with wrath I cast man down into the bottomless pit, making it so that he will never be able to free himself. Even so, in the midst of his piteous wailing, man still refuses to reform his mind, intent on opposing Me to the bitter end, and hoping thereby willfully to stir up My wrath. On account of what he has done, I treat him as the sinner that he is and deny him the warmth of My embrace. From the first, the angels have served Me and obeyed Me without change or surcease, but man has always done the exact opposite, as if he came not from Me, but was born of Satan. The angels in their respective places all give Me their utmost devotion; unswayed by Satan’s forces, they strive only to fulfill their duty. Suckled and nourished by the angels, the multitudes of My sons and My people all grow strong and healthy, not one among them weak or feeble. This is My doing, My miracle. As salvo after salvo of cannon fire inaugurates the founding of My kingdom, the angels, walking to the rhythmic accompaniment, come before My rostrum to submit to My inspection, because their hearts are free of impurity and of idols, and they do not shun My inspection.

At the howling of the gale, the heavens come pressing down in an instant, suffocating all mankind so that human beings are no longer able to call upon Me as they wish. Without knowing it, all humanity has collapsed. The trees sway back and forth in the wind, from time to time branches are heard to snap, and all the withered leaves are blown away. The earth feels bleak and desolate all of a sudden, and people hug themselves tight, braced for the disaster following upon the autumn to strike their bodies at any moment. The birds on the hills fly hither and thither, as if crying out their sorrow to someone; in the mountain caves, lions roar, terrifying people with the sound, freezing their marrow and making their hair stand on end, and it is as if there is an ominous feeling presaging the end of mankind. Unwilling to await My pleasure in disposing of them, all men pray silently to the Sovereign Lord in heaven. But how can a gale be blocked by the noise of water flowing in a little brook? How can it suddenly be stopped by the sound of men’s invocations? How can the rage in the heart of the thunderclap be stilled for the sake of man’s timidity? Man sways back and forth in the wind; he runs hither and thither to hide himself from the rain; and under My wrath, human beings quake and tremble, deeply afraid that I will plant My hand on their bodies, as if I am the muzzle of a gun pointed at all times at man’s breast, and again, as if he is My enemy, and yet he is My friend. Man has never discovered My true intentions to him, has never understood My true aims, and so, unawares, he offends against Me, unawares, he opposes Me, and yet, without meaning to, he has also seen My love. It is difficult for man to see My face in the midst of My wrath. I am hidden in the black clouds of My anger, and I stand, amid thunderclaps, above the entire universe to send My mercy down to man. Because man does not know Me, I do not chastise him for failing to understand My intent. In the eyes of men, I vent My wrath from time to time, I show My smile from time to time, but even when he sees Me, man has never seen the whole of My disposition, is still unable to hear the joyful noise of the clarion, because he has grown too numb and insensate. It is as if My image exists in man’s memories, and My form in his thoughts. However, there has never been a single person who has truly seen Me throughout the evolution of the human race, because man’s brain is too impoverished. For all that man has dissected Me, the science of the human race is so primitive that, till now, his scientific research has yielded no conclusive results. And so, the subject of “My image” has always been a complete blank, with no one to fill it in, no one to break a world record, because for mankind even to be able to keep his foothold in the present is already an inestimable consolation in the midst of great misfortune.